About Me
Hello! I’m Pawan Sawalani, a Lead DevSecOps Engineer with extensive experience building and securing cloud platforms. I’m currently working at Prommt (Dublin, Ireland), where I lead efforts to set up a Secure Platform that empowers our developers to ship features faster and more safely. I specialize in designing secure cloud architectures, automating infrastructure, and streamlining CI/CD pipelines. My expertise runs deep in technologies like AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform, CDK, and modern DevSecOps practices – but more importantly, I love using these tools to solve real-world problems for teams and businesses.
Professional Journey
My career path has taken me through diverse roles at industry-leading organizations, each shaping who I am today. I started out helping enterprises migrate and modernize their IT infrastructure, which led me to Tieto in 2018. There, I worked on automating cloud deployments (using Terraform, CloudFormation, and Ansible) and built CI/CD pipelines that accelerated application delivery. In the following years, I joined TerraAlto (a Ricoh company) as a DevOps Consultant, where I designed secure, highly-available architectures in AWS for clients and automated everything from infrastructure provisioning to deployment pipelines across AWS and Azure. I also led large-scale observability projects (using tools like CloudWatch, Prometheus, and Grafana) to ensure systems stayed healthy – efforts that helped cut critical incidents by over 50% and improve reliability for our customers.
In 2021, I had the opportunity to work at Amazon Web Services (AWS) itself as a DevOps Cloud Support Engineer. There I helped a wide range of AWS customers resolve complex infrastructure issues and guided them in following best practices. This experience of working directly with developers and IT teams around the globe taught me a ton about real-world challenges and reinforced the value of well-architected, secure solutions.
Now at Prommt, I’m combining all those experiences to build a platform that makes life easier for our development teams. From crafting self-service deployment pipelines to embedding security checks at every step, I’m focused on creating a developer experience that is smooth, safe, and scalable. Each chapter of my journey – from TCS to Tieto to TerraAlto to AWS and now Prommt – has given me a broader perspective on how to build and run robust systems at scale.
Skills & Certifications
Over the years, I’ve gained broad experience across the cloud and DevOps ecosystem. My core skill set includes cloud platforms (with Amazon Web Services as my forte and some experience in Azure), container orchestration (deploying and managing Kubernetes clusters in production), and Infrastructure as Code (building reproducible infrastructure using tools like Terraform and AWS CDK/CloudFormation). I’m fluent in setting up CI/CD pipelines using services and tools such as Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, and AWS CodePipeline, always with an eye on integrating security and compliance checks (the “Sec” in DevSecOps!). Automation is a key theme in my work – whether it’s automating cloud resource provisioning, configuration management with Ansible, or implementing monitoring/alerting solutions, I enjoy eliminating manual toil and making systems more efficient and reliable.
Certifications: I believe in validating my skills through continuous learning and certification. I currently hold:
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional
• Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
These certifications (along with a Master’s degree in Cloud Computing) reflect my commitment to staying at the forefront of cloud and DevOps best practices. But learning never really stops – I’m always exploring new technologies and better ways to build cloud-native systems.
My Approach & Values
I strive to be an inspiring leader, a supportive mentor, and an approachable collaborator in every team I’m part of. For me, leadership is about listening, learning, and leading by example. I love mentoring junior engineers and believe that with the right guidance and encouragement, everyone can grow to their full potential. I take pride in fostering a culture where no question is too basic and no idea is too small – some of the best solutions emerge when team members feel safe to share their thoughts and learn from failures.
Collaboration is at the heart of my work philosophy. Having worked with cross-functional and multicultural teams, I’ve learned that the best results come when developers, operations, and security folks work hand-in-hand with mutual respect. I approach challenges with a curious mindset and a positive attitude, making sure to stay approachable when teammates or peers need help. In fast-paced tech projects, I’m the guy who enjoys bringing people together – whether it’s brainstorming a tricky architecture problem on a whiteboard or pair-programming to troubleshoot a bug. My core values are continuous improvement, integrity, and empathy in engineering – I believe that how we work together is just as important as the tech we build.
Why I Blog
I started this blog out of a passion for sharing knowledge and giving back to the tech community. Over the years, I’ve benefited immensely from open-source guides, forums, and tech blogs written by others – now I want to pay it forward by sharing my own lessons and insights. Writing is also a way for me to reflect on what I’ve learned (and mistakes I’ve made!) in a format that others can learn from.
Another big motivation for me is to make complex topics more approachable for everyone. Whether you’re a junior engineer just dipping your toes into DevOps, a platform team member looking to implement an Internal Developer Platform, a startup founder figuring out your cloud strategy, or a seasoned professional keeping up with the latest in Kubernetes or AWS – I hope you’ll find something useful here. I try to write in a friendly, conversational tone, breaking down jargon and focusing on practical takeaways. My goal is to create content that is accessible yet meaningful: tutorials, how-tos, and stories that junior engineers can follow, but also deep dives and best practices that veteran engineers or tech leads can appreciate.
Ultimately, this blog is about learning and collaboration. I’m not just here to talk about what I know – I’m here to learn from you as well. So, please feel free to comment, ask questions, or share your own experiences. By exchanging ideas and knowledge, we all grow better together.
Thank you for reading a bit about me! I’m excited that you’re here, and I hope you enjoy the content on this blog. If you have any questions or just want to connect, don’t hesitate to reach out. Let’s keep learning, innovating, and building great things together!